India began administering 'precautionary dose' of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine to frontline workers and healthcare staff, as well as citizens with comorbidities aged 60 and above on Monday, with the fast-spreading Omicron variant fuelling a six-fold rise in infections in the week gone by. The fast spreading Omicron variant has caused infection in hundreds of healthcare and frontline workers, including police. In view of the cases, both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have sent one-third of its staffers to work from home, officials familiar with the matter said. "The government is committed to provide additional security cover to healthcare and frontline workers on priority," Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Twitter on Monday morning. So far, about 67 per cent of the country's 939 million adults have been given both the doses.

Source: Hindustan Times January 10, 2022 08:27 UTC